Rocky Mountain National Park sees a huge drop in the number of visitors in the months following the September flooding

It's no secret that the devastating mid-September flood was going to have a serious impact on the tourism industry in Estes Park and nearby Rocky Mountain National Park.

The depths of the impact are still being felt locally - and likely will be for some time - as tourists slowly trickle back to this mountain community.

Rocky Mountain National Park officials, however, know exactly what the impact was and it's not great news.

"The numbers for September and October were, not surprisingly, extremely dramatic," said Rocky Mountain National Park Public Information Office Kyle Patterson.

According to information just released by the park, the number of visitors to the national park dropped a staggering 52 percent in September and a whopping 70 percent in October over the same time period last year.

In short, there were 427,376 less visitors this year in September and October than in 2012.

"It's certainly the most (decline) we've seen in those two months in at least 20 years," Patterson said.

The two-month drop is significant for another reason, too.

"While July is still our biggest month (for tourists), we've seen a huge increase in September and October over the last 15-20 years," Patterson said. "People really come on the weekends to see the elk and the colors change."

Another concern is park fee revenue. About 80 percent of park fees are kept by the park to be used for services that benefit visitors.

According to Patterson, the park collected just $483,000 in feels in September, a 60 percent drop from September 2012 when it collected $1.18 million. The story was worse in October as the park collected $116,000, a 75 percent drop for October 2012.

Patterson blamed the lost revenue on the lack of park accessibility, especially U.S. Highways 34 and 36.

"About 80 percent of our visitors come from the east which means they are traveling on 34 and 36," Patterson said. "When you have two major roads not accessible, that's going to have a huge impact."

Patterson said the lost fee revenue is just that, lost. There is no backfill from the federal government.

However, she said that the park will be working with various entities to secure funds for roads, trails and other projects.

"It's too soon to say how all this will affect projects in 2014," Patterson said. "We should have a good idea by early next year."

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